TV gossip shows directed to Air Past 10 pm

Kampala | RedPepper Digital – Local broadcasters have been advised to reschedule adult gossip shows from evening hours to between 10 pm and 5 am effective today, Wednesday, October 21, 2021.

According to Ag. Executive Director of the Uganda Communications Commission order letter to the stations in question this week, concerned media houses are to comply with the Minimum Broadcasting Standard

Listed yet affected TV stations and programmes respectively are: Spark TV’s Live Wire, NBS TV’s Uncut Sabula and Uncut Kalakata, Urban TV’s Short Circuit Sonsomola, ABS TV’s Evening Zone, Baba TV’s Poko Poko, STV’s Select E-Buzz, BTM TV’s Access, and BBS TV’s Roundabout. These are known for casting entertainment news.

Besides; Dream TV’s Tik Taka Sesetura, Kingdom TV’s Kapyaki, and Top TV’s Kachumbali are to follow suit.

The guideline came after a media houses meeting held between UCC officials and 11 television stations’ representatives on 7th October 2021 in Bugolobi.

This policy was geared by the public complaining that some of these programmes are violating Minimum Broadcasting Standards.

Though TV stations agreed to address the issue, UCC has not observed any improvement in the nature and quality of the shows in question. This prompted Eng. Irene to give a directive.

Reviewing the nature of the content, UCC guided that;

The programmes contain adult content, sexual innuendos and profanity, with the potential to disturb and harm some members of the public, especially children.

The stations don’t adequately warn their audiences about the nature of content often contained in the programmes.

The presenters of the programmes often appear on air when dressed indecently in skimpy outfits.

The language and statements used by the presenters and guests during the programmes are often abusive, demeaning, derogatory and contain unsubstantiated claims against different personalities.

The programmes often contain inaccurate, misleading and unverified content, which often defames other individuals.

The content in the programmes often invades the privacy of individuals, contains unbalanced reporting, and denies the persons reported against the right of response or an opportunity to reply against the allegations made against them during the programs.

To protect children and adults who find the content objectionable, the Commission directed the stations to stop broadcasting the programmes during the watershed period (5.00 am – 10.00 pm). The move is in line with the Uganda Communications Act 2013 and Regulation 28 of the Uganda Communications (Content) Regulations 2019.

For the casting of the said programmes to remain operating normally, UCC advised that they must “institute deliberate measures to ensure that the content broadcast during the said programmes complies with the Minimum Broadcasting Standards, the Uganda Communications (Content) Regulations 2019, and other laws including but not limited to the Data Protection and Privacy Act 2019, and the Computer Misuse Act 2011.”

Failure to adhere to the directive will lead to regulatory sanctions like suspension of the station’s broadcasting license in accordance with Section 41 of the Uganda Communications Act 2013.

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